


Oblivious

by MarvelousMusings



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awkward Romance, Everybody Lives, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:16:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24766819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelousMusings/pseuds/MarvelousMusings
Summary: Peter and Tony are both wholly oblivious to the other's infatuation, but it's painfully obvious to those around them.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 142





	Oblivious

**Author's Note:**

> I am taking fic commissions in exchange for donations to Black Lives Matter and/or your local bail fund! Thank you so much to the person who donated and requested this fic!

Peter had moved into the newly-minted Avengers tower several months after his high school graduation. An incoming freshman at Columbia, he'd jumped at the opportunity to be able to be closer to campus. The commute from Queens was one thing that he had not been looking forward to.

Living at the Avengers headquarters wasn't so bad either. After all, what other freshman could say that they had received biochem tutoring from Bruce Banner and mechanics lessons from Tony Stark himself? Truthfully, it was any science nerd's dream come true. 

The cherry on the top of the cake was the major upgrade his videogame nights had received since moving into the Tower. Formerly a cramped bi-weekly event, where Peter, Ned, and MJ would crowd onto his four-poster in his closet-turned-bedroom and spend hours squinting at a 20 year old tube, the three were now able to spread out across the entire common area on the 49th floor and relax in front of a widescreen that practically took up the entire far wall. This particular game night had taken an unexpected turn when they'd learned of JARVIS's affinity for Mario Kart. Out of the three of them, MJ had been the only one who'd been able to best the AI, and even that had only been for one round.

"One more round, gentlemen?" JARVIS asked as the television flickered and returned to the game's main menu. The AI sounded immensely pleased with himself and it only made Peter's level of exasperation sky rocket.

"I think we're done, J. Thanks," Peter grumbled, tabling his controller alongside Ned's.

"Very well." There was a moment's pause before JARVIS continued, "Good game, Miss Jones. A pleasure as always."

"Yeah, you too, Smart House."

Peter want sure whether to laugh or cry. MJ had only stopped by the Tower twice up to that point and already she and JARVIS were thick as thieves. They were too smart a pair for Peter's liking. Dangerous in their wittiness. 

He pushed that thought far from his mind though, as Need grabbed the remote and began flipping through channels. A few minutes of idle channel-flicking later, they managed to land on something that caught all of their interests - a Star Wars marathon.

They'd raided the adjoining bar, where MJ had collected a bottle of scotch and the glasses to split between them. As the night had dragged on and the scotch bottle emptied, Peter had relaxed further into the couch, eventually flopping over to let his head rest in MJ's lap. He was moments away from letting sleep pull him under when the elevator dinged and the lights flipped on. 

"Shit," Peter glowered, shielding his eyes from the harsh florescent light and burrowing further into MJ's side, "The light."

Ned and MJ shielded their eyes as well with groans of discomfort.

"That top shelf stuff really packs a punch, huh?" Tony asked as he puttered around the common area, dropping his jacket before calling, "JARVIS, coffee." that was met by an almost instantaneous Right away, sir.

"You doin' okay, Pete?" Tony asked, pausing to peer over the back of the couch at Peter, who was still sprawled out across MJ's lap.

"'m alright," Peter grumbled, clinging to his spinning head as he forced himself upright, "Just a little...fuzzy. But you shouldn't be drinking coffee at," He glanced down at the clock face on his phone screen, "2 am. Come on; you know better."

Tony gave the younger man an appreciative look before it faded again into something less readable. "Lookin' out for me?"

"Somebody's gotta do it."

The moment came and went. MJ eyes bounced between the two as though she was watching a tennis match. Then thankfully the Keurig dinged, signaling it's readiness, and Tony broke away to collect his coffee.

"Right," he began, taking a sip off the top, "I've got to get back to the lab. I just came up for this." He waggled his coffee cup at the three of them. "There are guest rooms on the floor below, if you two plan on staying for the night. Pete, I'll see you in the lab? 8 o'clock tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark," Peter said, nodding his head rapidly and immediately regretting it. He clung to his skull as the world spun around him, "Might be 9," he murmured before flopping back and reclaiming his place across MJ's lap.

Once the elevator door had shut behind the elder man, MJ peered down at Peter with a humored gaze. His cheeks tinted bright red. "So that's him, huh?" She asked, letting her head rest are her first, "Mr. Stark, sir," she continued, in an entirely passable impersonation of Peter, "You shouldn't be having coffee at 2am, Mr. Stark, sir. Somebody gotta look after you, sir. Honestly, you are so hung up."

"Shh," Peter hissed, lifting a heavy hand from his side to wave her off, "You can't say that out loud. The walls have ears."

"Indeed they do, Mr. Parker," JARVIS called as if on cue, "Shall I have the guestrooms made up for Miss Jones and Master Leeds-"

"Wait," MJ snorted, her hands shooting up in surprise, "What the hell's that supposed to mean? You think he doesn't know?"

"I know he doesn't know," Peter murmured, flapping a hand in her direction, "I've been careful to make sure he doesn't-"

"Oh, Peter," she practically cackled, "you can't be serious. There isn't a person alive who can be that oblivious-"

"Oblivious to what?" Ned interjected.

MJ turned back to Peter then, "There is only one person alive who can be that oblivious," she corrected, "You're telling me you've never tried to...you know."

Peter's eyebrows shot high. Dear God. 

"No. I haven't," Peter insisted, "Tony wouldn't... I'm his protege; that's it. He's made that abundantly clear."

She shook her head in utter disbelief, "But if he wanted it, you wouldn't-"

"I'd fuckin' jump at any chance I got, but he isn't interested in me. Why would he be?"

MJ's hands flew into the air again in her exasperation, "I don't know, Parker. You're hot. You're young. You worship the ground Tony Stark walks on. Go talk to him."

Peter's face flamed once again and he buried his face in his hands, "Tomorrow," he reasoned, "I shouldn't...probably not right now. I should probably have a clear head when I-"

"You're going to sober up and talk yourself out of it, Peter. Come on." MJ argues, but when Peter didn't counter, she simply shook her head and pushed herself to her feet, "Okay, fine. Do it your way. We're going to bed."

With that, she helped Ned hoist himself to his feet and then they were off to their rooms.

That night Peter didn't even make it back to his room; he'd curled up under the throw on the couch and fell immediately into a hazy unrest. The room dimmed around him as he finally managed a light doze.

The next morning dawned far too soon. It took all of Peter's will power to force his eyes open, and to get the coffee going. He'd changed hastily into a new pair of sweats before heading down to the lab with his cup of coffee as well as a fresh one for Tony.

"Morning," he grumbled, setting the extra mug in front of Tony who was already well into his work. Peter couldn't be sure if the elder man had ever actually made it to bed; there was every possibility that he had worked clear through the night, "You didn't sleep, did you?"

"I'll rest when I'm dead," Tony murmured, his mind clearly somewhere else as he worked, "Thanks," he said in acknowledgement, gripping the coffee between between shaky fingers and downing half of it in one gulp. 

With their initial awkward good mornings out of the way, Peter and Tony set about their own work. Their stations faced away from each other on opposite walls. It made it difficult for Peter to interject in any real way. After only a few minutes, he'd come to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to be able to get off his chest what he'd wanted to this morning. 

"So, you had your friends over last night," Tony said, setting one tool off to the side and getting up from his stool to collect a soldering iron off the far wall.

"Hmm?" Peter muttered, so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd barely managed to compute the question. "My friends what?"

"You had a couple of 'em over last night," Tony said. There was no question there, just the statement. 

It made Peter's blood run cold. He'd gotten so comfortable in the Tower, so used to it that he'd forgotten that his status was still technically that of a guest. It hadn't even dawned on him that he probably should've asked for permission before parading his friends in and - shit - drinking their way through half of the top shelf.

Peter set his project off to the side, turning on his stool to face Tony. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth as he met Tony with an apologetic glance. 

"I can replace the scotch."

Tony shook his head with a find little smile, "That's nice of you to offer. But for one thing, no you can't." That managed to pull a laugh from Peter because Tony was probably right. That bottle had likely been worth more than all of Peter's savings combined and there was no way he was going to be able to buy a replacement. "And for another thing, you don't have to worry about that. Have your friends over. Have your game nights. It's alright. You live here now. This is your home. You can have friends over."

"You're not mad?" 

Peter deflated noticeably with the relief of knowing that he hadn't angered Tony.

"'Course I'm not mad."

They lapsed into another moment of quiet. Peter had very nearly turned back to his work top when Tony began again. 

"Who's the girl?" he asked idly, fiddling away at his work station with his back to Peter.

The question had taken him off guard. "That was - uh - MJ. She likes to play Mario Kart against JARVIS."

"She ever beat him?"

What? Why would that matter? Peter wondered. "Yeah. A - um - couple of times, I think."

"So a smart girl," Tony nodded, as if taking a mental note, "That's good," he said. It was under his breath, almost meant entirely for himself, "Good. And you two are, you know, being safe...and all that?"

Peter was a deer in headlights in that moment. "What?"

"You and MJ. You need to use your precautions. You know, all that stuff they told you about in middle school health. I'm not having any little Parkers made on my watch. Aunt May would have me strung up by my toes," Tony said. There was a hint of melancholy in his tone, but when he spun to face Peter once again, his expression was fixed in beat indifference.

Peter shook his head, stunned that of all the conclusions Tony could've drawn from last night this was the one he'd chosen to go with. "Mr. Stark, I think you've got the wrong idea-"

"You know, it just so happens that I had this brought down with my breakfast."

Tony brandished a banana from the far corner of his table top. Peter shook his head, praying that a hole would open in the floor and swallow him down. "Oh, no, Mr. Stark, you really don't have to-"

Where in the fuck had that condom come from? 

"So look, you've got to make sure you pinch. You understand? And then you just-"

"Stop, please," Peter choked out, going from embarrassment to absolute mortification in a matter of seconds, "Tony, MJ and I aren't together." That drew the other man's attention; Tony couldn't recall the last time Peter had called him anything other than Mr. Stark. Peter raked a hand through his hair, jutting out a hip and sucking that bottom lip between his teeth, contemplating for only a moment what came out of his mouth next. "She was giving me advice on you."

The silence that settled between them was an uncomfortable thing. Tony stared. Peter glared back. The banana remained hoisted in midair. It seemed they were at a stalemate, until finally, mercifully, Tony broke the tension. 

"I'm going to - uh - need you to elaborate, Pete," Tony murmured, his hands coming up in front of himself to wring the banana for all it was worth.

That drew Peter's eye, but after a quick glance here shook his head, "Okay. I will. Elaborate. Will you please just...put that down?" He swallowed around the growing lump in his throat.

Tony nodded his agreement, pushing the fruit out of sight before facing Peter fully. "I saw you making googly eyes at her last night. I'm not blind, Pete."

"You're...not serious." Peter cracked a smile then, his laugh emboldened as Tony's confusion only grew, "Tony, I have been looking for reasons to be down here. With you. Since the day I moved in. Did you think I just enjoyed upgrading my webbing?"

"You're down here so that...you and me..."

The pieces seemed to take their time slotting together in Tony's head. Peter could practically see his wheels turning. "Oh."

Peter couldn't help but laugh once the elder's realization dawned clear on his face. "Tell me if you want me to back off and - and I will, but..." Peter's cheeks began to flush once again as he stepped nearer, "I'd like to, um..."

"Use your words, honey; you've made it this far," Tony urged him on, as Peter crowded into his space, backing Tony into his desk, thighs clattering against the mahogany surface, "Tell me what you want."

Blushing darker still, Peter peered down at his knotted fingers, the very picture of nerves, "Well...I'd like to kiss you. If you'd let me."

"If I let you," Tony scoffed, arms reaching out to wrap around Peter's middle, "I suppose I could let you-"

"Okay, good."

That first kiss was clumsy, toothy. And Peter pulled away far too early for Tony's liking, though his forehead rested lightly against the older man's and his chest heaved harshly.

"Something wrong?"

"Don't take this the wrong way," Peter murmured, lips quirking upward apologetically, "but you wreak of coffee and morning breath. You should probably-"

Tony pulled away before Peter could say anything more. He was halfway to the elevator shaft before Peter found it in himself follow after. It surprised even Tony when Peter interlaced their fingers as they waiting for the elevator door to open. "What are you-"

"Sh," Peter murmured, stepping in once the door had slid open for them, "You're going to take a shower."

"Yes. I am."

"And I'm going to join you."

"Oh."

There were no more words shared for the rest of the ride to the penthouse.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to request a commission of your own you can message me on Tumblr @loonyasalovegood for details. I hope you enjoyed this! Leave comments/kudos if so! 💖


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